The Center for Cultural Experiences in Prevention aims to strengthen the capacity of community organizations and the university to provide HIV and substance abuse prevention programs and services to the Richmond area. read more...

More often than not, society associates older adulthood with decline. However, older age is linked to increased well-being and more positive affect in comparison to individuals in younger and middle adulthood. read more...

Adolescents spend a lot of time online engaging in social communication. Some of these experiences target adolescents’ racial group membership. Do these experiences impact the way adolescents interact with others? read more...

Faculty

Core Faculty

Richard BargdillHabitual/chronic experiences of boredom; cognitive /phenomenological model of habitual boredom and depression; phenomenological descriptions of meaningful events in the lives of undergraduates. Phenomenological research is a form of qualitative methods that uses narrative accounts to produce rich descriptions of human experience.

Chelsea DerlanPositive development and well-being, particularly among African American and Latino youth; young children’s ethnic-racial identification; adolescents’ ethnic-racial identity; cultural socialization and the role of the family context

Danielle Dick Genetic and environmental influences on the development of alcohol problems and related disorders, such as conduct problems and depression; substance use, behavioral and emotional health and well-being in college students; personalized prevention programming that integrates individual risk information.

Wendy Kliewer, Chair of Psychology DepartmentSocial development of school-age children; stress and coping by children and parents; health behaviors; effects of violence on children; coping with illness and community violence.

Geri LotzeImpact of disabilities throughout the lifespan, including healthcare service provision for children, violence prevention in adolescence, and stress and coping during emerging adulthood; children impacted by maternal incarceration.

Fantasy LozadaSocial competence and emotional development among ethnic minority youth, particularly in middle childhood and adolescence; socialization processes in home, school, and Internet contexts; family cultural processes; race-related experiences as a context for child development

Zewelanji SerpellCognitive development of school-aged African American children; school-based interventions that target executive functioning; social and cultural contexts of learning; and school mental health.

Terri SullivanImpact of peer victimization and witnessed violence on children’s social and emotional development; emotional and social competencies in adolescent development; school-based violence prevention program development and evaluation.

Marcia WinterChild development in contexts of both acute and chronic stress; susceptibility and adaptation at individual, dyadic, and family group levels; parenting and family processes; biopsychosocial processes of child emotional and physical health.

Tracey GendronPrimary affiliation: GerontologyProfessional identity development and career commitment of Gerontologists, education through community engagement and service-learning, aging anxiety, ageism and gerontophobia, LGBT aging and staff knowledge and quality of care.

Emeritus Faculty

Barbara MyersChildren and families of incarcerated parents; parenting children with autism spectrum disorders, disabilities, or other risk conditions; early intervention for young children with disabilities.